Feature Story

St. Louis physician Sheyna Gifford spent a year (Aug 2015-Aug 2016) isolated with five other researchers in a 1,200-sq.-ft. geodesic dome perched on a remote Hawaiian volcano’s hillside as part of a NASA-funded program to explore the possibilities of human colonization of Mars.

The crew of the HI-SEAS IV, or Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, spent 12 months with no real-time contact, with people outside the dome, living in close quarters without access to outside air or fresh food aside from what they could grow. When they did venture outside, they wore analog "spacesuits."

Data gathered from the resulting crew interactions and behavioral patterns in these tests will be vital to planning actual missions to Mars in years to come. The 2016 project was the longest U.S. space simulation mission to date.

Gifford, a neuroscientist, practices medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and has been working on various space-exploration projects since 1997.

Quasi-public agencies like the St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corporation made up of SLU and SSM bring community development, corporate partnership, real estate activity, and academic rigor to the City's economic development plans.

The Ameren Accelerator didn't just help Rebate Bus break into a highly competitive industry — it provided the support, guidance, and resources the company needed to become a mature, sustainable, and profitable venture.

SentiAR, an augmented reality startup based in St. Louis, recently completed a rigorous peer-review panel that ended with a stellar score – and a $2.2M grant. SentiAR's success shows that the medical world is ready for AR, and their startup story shows what's possible when a city shares your vision.

The building where the 1904 World's Fair was planned sat vacant for decades. Now, inspired by the history of St. Louis, a coworking startup from San Francisco plans to turn it into a destination downtown.

Startups think about disruption all the time, but late night project sprints at T-Rex – a coworking space in St Louis, Missouri – have seen startup founders getting their own work disrupted. By a ghost.

St. Louis has begun to make a name for itself in the world of high-tech and IT entrepreneurs. Here's the latest on the role Downtown St. Louis plays in propelling our city's innovation community forward.

Twelve St. Louis area nonprofit and governmental organizations are initial members of a collective that will receive $420,000 over two years from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to help female and historically underrepresented entrepreneurs of color in high-growth sectors.